Raising the roof over homes

Updated 10:02 am, Saturday, October 13, 2012

Cracks in the foundation of the DR Horton built home of Jushua Sanchez in Cibolo on October 4, 2012.

Cracks in the foundation of the DR Horton built home of Jushua Sanchez in Cibolo on October 4, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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Photo: Mike Fisher

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Cracks in the foundation of the DR Horton built home of Jushua Sanchez in Cibolo on October 4, 2012.

Cracks in the foundation of the DR Horton built home of Jushua Sanchez in Cibolo on October 4, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

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Cracks in the foundation of the DR Horton built home of Jushua Sanchez in Cibolo on October 4, 2012.

Cracks in the foundation of the DR Horton built home of Jushua Sanchez in Cibolo on October 4, 2012.

Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News

Raising the roof over homes

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CIBOLO — Cracked foundations, collapsed driveways and busted plumbing are just a few issues several residents here are encountering with their D.R. Horton homes.

For months, several homeowners in the Falcon Ridge and Bentwood Ranch subdivisions have claimed the home builder sold them defective houses, and already the City Council has taken steps to protect its residents by drafting a stricter building code.

Since the beginning of the year, the city of Cibolo has put in place code that requires home builders to conduct more soil testing and that requires engineers to certify a building's design fits with the soil test results, Mayor Pro-tem Steve Liparoto said.

Cibolo Mayor Jennifer Hartman is one homeowner whose house has foundation issues.

Hartman and Liparoto have met with homeowners from Falcon Ridge and Bentwood Ranch about their problems.

It's unclear how many homeowners have issues with their foundations or if neighborhood homes by other home builders have been affected.

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“There seems to be a big difference between the home builders and the engineers (as to) what constitutes a failure,” Liparoto said. “My thought is that if it costs the homeowner money or decreases their value, it's a failure.”

Dozens of homeowners have made repairs themselves or have used their home warranties for most fixes.

Although no one has officially made that request, homeowners want more than a fix. They want D.R. Horton to buy back their houses.

“Why is this happening? There's so much stress from purchasing this home, physically and mentally,” said Jushua Sanchez, who bought his home about a year ago. “They need to buy it back. This is supposed to be our retirement home, but it's just a bust.”

About two months after Sanchez closed on his home, he started noticing doors sticking and cracks in the floor and along the walls. He has had D.R. Horton patch cracks about three times, but the problems continue to mount, he said.

The cracks, which are wide enough to fit a quarter, are causing leaks and allowing insects access into the house.

In August, about a month after she closed on her home, Elaine Pennington heard the sound of what she thought were fireworks coming from inside her house.

As she searched for where the sound was coming from, she realized the noise was her home's foundation cracking. When the ruckus stopped, she noticed cracks inside the home in her floor, walls and ceiling. From the outside she could see cracks in the brick, foundation and the street.

“I was speechless,” she said. “I'm beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with the ground. I can't afford to have the home fall down on me.”

An official statement from D.R. Horton mentioned that the builder has been contacted by only 10 homeowners in the Cibolo market about foundation questions or concerns.

“For each homeowner that has contacted us, we requested the opportunity to inspect their home to evaluate its condition and determine any necessary repairs,” the statement reads.

D.R. Horton has built more than 1,000 homes in the Cibolo area, the statement said.

Earlier this year, Pulte Homes came to terms with homeowners in the Fairhaven neighborhood in Schertz after they complained about issues such as cracked foundations.

Pulte didn't buy back homes there, but the builder has been making house-specific repairs and is rebuilding homes that have required more comprehensive work, James Zeumer, vice president of investor and corporate communications for Pulte, said in an email.

Homeowners whose homes are being rebuilt have been placed in temporary housing. Their homes should be complete by year's end.

At this point, the residents of the affected homes in Cibolo are still working to form an official group. They hope soon to file a formal complaint and buyback demand with D.R. Horton.